Researchers Study Effect of Cinnamon Compounds on Brain
Cells

Cell-culture studies looking into
how compounds in cinnamon extract affect brain cells are being conducted by
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
scientists. The researchers have reported findings that the compounds studied
prevented isolated brain cells from swelling, one of the many abnormal
conditions resulting from traumatic brain injury and stroke due to impaired
blood flow to the brain.

Brain swelling is a condition in which fluid either accumulates within brain
cells or is retained in blood vessels that form around brain cells. The
mechanisms underlying cell swelling in stroke are not clearly understood, but
may be due in part to a membrane within brain cells not working properly.

The scientists used isolated glial cellscells that support essential
elements of neural tissue found in the brain and spinal cordand put them
in a culture solution. When the cell cultures were deprived of oxygen and
glucose for five hours, the researchers measured the function of the
mitochondrial inner membrane in the glial cells. They found a nearly 40 percent
decline in the mitochondrial membrane potential due to the lack of oxygen and
glucose.

The researchers then exposed some of the cells to a cinnamon extract, while
other cells served as nonexposed controls. The reduction in the
membrane potential was alleviated in the presence of the cinnamon extract.

Ninety minutes later, the researchers measured volume of the glial cells.
They found that cell volume among the oxygen- and glucose-deprived cells had
increased by more than 34 percent. But this increased swelling was absent in
the presence of cinnamon polyphenol extract at the highest level tested.

Because neuroglial cell swelling can contribute to further neuronal injury,
the study indicates that further animal-model research is warranted, according
to the authors. The researchers caution that table cinnamon compounds may
accumulate in the body and should not be ingested consistently as more than a
spice over long periods of time.